When a malignant tumor is found in a breast, generally treatment involves surgical procedure, either mastectomy or lumpectomy, sometimes followed by radiation therapy. The size and location of the tumor are found by different imaging modalities, such as x-ray (mammography), ultrasound, CT, MRI and others. After locating the tumor, a portion of the tissue (lump), including the cancerous portion and a layer of healthy tissue surrounding the cancerous portion, is excised. It is important that the layer of healthy tissue envelop (enclose) the cancerous portion, to ensure that all the malignancy has been removed. This layer is often referred to as a “clean margin”.
PCT patent application PCT/US2011/023101 describes a system for margin assessment of an ex-vivo tissue. The system includes an imaging scanner controlled by an imaging control unit, and an ex-vivo sample holder for holding a sample of an excised tissue. The sample holder is sized so that excised lump edges of the excised tissue are forced against a surface of the sample holder such that the edges change shape to have a predetermined geometry. The imaging scanner is positioned relative to the sample holder such that the imaging scanner acquires images (or measurements) not of all the tissue but rather of the edges that have the predetermined geometry and which are in a sensitive region extending into a peripheral margin of the tissue.